The Dark
by bunnies-of-plotting
Summary: Harper Potter is the Boy-Who-Lived's little brother. But what happens when he's more powerful, he's the one who actually destroyed Voldemort...But he's on the Dark side? AU, SLASH


Umm…So, yeah…Please read! I don't own Harry Potter (grumbles and whines), nor would I want to…Why? I'm afraid for my sanity if I did, my mind would constantly be awake, churning up new ideas…So, this is Dark!Powerful!Sub!-Harry. Er, Harper. He won't be in the year with Ron/Hermione/Draco/Neville and them, but with Ginny/Luna/Colin and them. So…Here you go!

~NOM-NOM-NOM-NOM-NOM-NOM~

The black-haired, green-eyed boy stood at the doorway of his brother's room. The light was warm and inviting, but he didn't go in. He saw Mother reading to his older (by an entire year) brother, and Father making faces over her shoulder to amuse the other black-haired boy. Unlike the littler boy, the one in the softly lit room had hazel eyes, different from the once-bright spring-green eyes. The younger boy rubbed the scar above his left eyebrow, the lightning bolt scar tingling with the thick emotions he felt. Then turned from the sight of the family time that he was excluded from, back into his dark room, closing his eyes slowly, though he didn't sleep for many hours after. The next night was the same, and the months went by, until he stopped watching.

~-~-~-~-~-~0~-~-~-~-~-~

The younger boy was quick and quiet as he slipped from shadow to shadow in the forest. He was out because he needed out of there. It was Gideon's eleventh birthday, July 30th, born a year and day before Harper. And as the Boy-Who-Lived, Gideon's party was absolutely packed with people. Of course, Harper hated all of the pushing, and the shoving and noise, screams for the Boy-Who-Lived…

So, Harper was in the large forest surrounding the Manor they were using. It was one of the more public Manors, but there was a thick forest surrounding it that redeemed it in Harper's almond-shaped eyes. Going deeper into the dark forest, he let his thoughts roam and his high-alert senses down a bit to relax.

He knew his parents were proud as anything about his going to school, but that they would mourn his leaving. Or not. They might get positions at the school, leaving Harper with House-Elves. Of course, he didn't mind, and the House-Elves adored him for whatever reason. '_All the better if they left_,', he thought to himself as he leisurely went deeper into the forest, '_I'll be able to do as I want, and get into the library_.', his parents kept the doors to the library locked and the House-Elves were strongly told to make sure both boys weren't able to get in. But they never specified that it hold up while both parents are gone, the House-Elves had told him when he had summoned one, upset at not getting in. It was Gideon's fault for that, he had destroyed several books that took two weeks for their Mother to repair, and now he could only go in when one of the two were accompanying him.

As he thought on their Mother, he pictured his family. Their Father was a large man, muscular and tall, with lightly-tanned skin, messy ebony hair an easy grin, almond-shaped eyes colored hazel, and five 'o' clock shadow at all times. Then there was their curvy, also tall mother. She had a lovely hour-glass shape with crimson locks that held gentle curls to her lower-back, and gentle viridian doe-like eyes and sun-kissed skin. Gideon had the same mess of black hair as their Father, along with his hazel-eyes and paler skin, he was a mini-James, with the same straight nose and easy grin. Harper himself was smaller than his brother, not only from age, but from something akin to malnutrition. He didn't eat much, usually absorbed in something else, or not feeling up to eating with his family. Therefore, he had a slim body that shared honeyed skin with his Mother, but had the high-cheekbones, fuller lips, and black hair with his Father, though Harper's, with his angelic curls that still were rather messy but because it reached his shoulder-blades it was tamer than his brother's and Father's. Harper also received his Father's almond-shaped eyes, unlike Gideon, whose eyes are doe-like. To say the least, Gideon was more cute, whereas Harper was pretty. And as they grow, Gideon will be quite handsome and charming, while Harper will be elegantly, daintily beautiful. Harper paused, smiling as he realized he was lost. Sighing in content, he wondered how long it would take for his parents to realize he was gone. If anything, Gideon would probably bug them about his little brother; Gideon felt he was the savior, but more so to his little brother. It got annoying, having his older brother protect him from everything. Well, trying to, anyways. It was sweet, but completely unnecessary. Sitting with his back against the rough bark of a dark trunk, he looked up through the thick foliage, and a longing look overtook his bright eyes as he stared at the sparkling stars. What is it like to hang so high above everything like them, and to have people gazing at them?

He shook his head of the silly thoughts, chastising himself about idiotic musing. Thumping his head back against the tree, he sighed agitatedly, closing his eyes. He heard the slither of a serpent before he saw it, and he slowly slid his eyes open, lethargically looking to the thick, long snake that was staring at him unblinkingly. "*Yes?*", he asked as his eyes roved the graceful creature. It had a jaguar pattern in black against a dark turquoise setting, and its' eyes weren't as dark as most snakes were, instead being a vibrantly neon yellow. His left eyebrow moved instinctively up.

"*You speak, little one?*", it asked, the hisses a deep tenor in his ears to match its startling size. Harper shifted slightly, nodding. "*Interesting…*", now the yellow eyes seemed to be examining him, sliding across his relaxed body. "*You are not afraid of me?*"

"*You are an intelligent being,*", the boy snorted, "*It'd be rather useless to attack me, wouldn't it?*", he asked rhetorically.

Back at the large manor, Gideon was laughing happily, his godfather Sirius tickling him viciously on the ground. Remus stood nearby, smiling at the scene with Lily and James who were watching with proud eyes. As Sirius stood up, chuckling, Gideon gulped in air, tears still at the corner of his eyes before he looked around. "Where's Harper?", he asked, looking through the people present. Then he spotted him entering through a side-door that led outside and into the back-garden, where the smaller boy usually spent his time. Beaming happily, he scrambled up to tackle the younger boy to the ground, making the adults around laugh at his eagerness to get to the smaller Potter. Gideon looked up to his parents, rounded-glasses crooked on his face, "Can't he come with me to Hogwarts?", he whined, hugging his little brother tightly. Lily gave a soft smile, while James shook his head, amused. Sirius snorted to stop laughing at the whine and Remus chuckled.

"Now Gideon,", Lily began, "You can't bring him with you.", she said, "We've already talked about how he'll be with you next year, remember?", she asked.

"But-but,", he began, jutting out his bottom lip as his brows furrowed, "If you two are coming to school with me, who will stay with Harper?", he asked, a triumphant smile on his face.

"Me and Moony will, squirt!", Sirius cheered, grinning at the now crest-fallen face.

"But I love Harper!", he protested, cuddling the silent, though annoyed boy to his chest. Harper sighed inaudibly, before taking up his 'Innocent Eyes'.

"But Gideon, don't you wanna grow big and stronger like Father?", he asked. No matter what, Harper only called their parents Mother and Father. The older boy stopped to think about that. Then nodded with all the vast determination of a newly-turned eleven year-old.

"I'll get stronger, and then I can protect you better!", he said with another nod. The adults laughed once more as both boys sat on the floor, Harper snuggled onto Gideon's lap. The rest of the night, Harper wasn't able to escape his brother's sight, and his hand was taken captive by Gideon's quite often. Harper was annoyed by this, as he had a snake up in his room now, and he didn't trust the serpent to leave his things be. But, he put on a sweet smile, that forty minutes later (really, it was past Gideon's bedtime,) his face was in pain, and he feared his face might be permanently in that sickeningly innocent smile for the rest of his days. Gideon yawned sleepily, but his grip on the smaller hand never loosened.

"Okay, little man, are you tired?", their Father asked with an amused crooked grin. Gideon didn't answer, instead dragging Harper to a plush French divan, and curling up around the smaller, younger boy to rest against his back. Harper had to forcefully make his body relax to please his brother. He was _not_ some damn pet or ragdoll!

Despite this, he stayed within his brother's embrace, choosing to bear with it until his parents decided that sleeping on the divan was unhealthy for Gideon, thus freeing him in the process. It only took about five minutes, though his brother seemed stubborn, clinging on to Harper, as if _he_ could make them go away.

Of course, his parent's will was stronger than a sleepy eleven year-old.

As soon as Harper was free, he had bade his brother goodnight, along with his parents, before scurrying off to the highest level of the house besides the attic. The Manor had seven floors, all traditional oak and redwood, and almost always each room had a separate library-worthy wall of bookshelves. Harper had made his room in the top floor because all the walls were built-in bookshelves, with moving ladders to help him up to the high ceiling as well. His bed was on a pedestal-like rising, the bed itself being king-size, with sheer black canopy, with bloody-crimson sheets, and black duvet and pillows. He saw the snake coiled up on it, half-hidden under thick silky pillows. Harper, however, was in no mood for sleep, instead going to the section of bookshelf closest to his bed, where he kept Darker-oriented books. He stayed up well into the night.

~-~-~-~-~-~0~-~-~-~-~-~

Diagon Alley was full of loud and obnoxious children, along with some of the teens who had to buy things last minutes with the new students. Harper pulled his thin autumn robe closer to his lithe body, shivering as he mentally cast a warming charm over himself. He wasn't able to do a _lot_ yet with silent, wandless magic, but he was getting better. The family went out as one, with Remus and Sirius as well, and Harper made sure he was partially hiding behind Remus and his Mother, therefore in the back. Their Father and Sirius were with Gideon, telling him stories of their school-days. They all wore light robes, as it was only the end of summer, but the England chill was always present. Harper was glad for keeping his hair down. Normally, when they went out, he pulled it up into a lazy half-bun, or a braid, but he wanted to keep his curtain of black hair to shield himself with. The loud squabbling of a particularly large batch of slightly dirty gingers distracted him for a moment, before he narrowed his eyes at the family. They were grating on his nerves, and they're almost three yards away, and oh-joy, he feels a headache coming on from their shouting. As if some sadistic being had heard him, his Mother turned to look at the large group, gasped in delight, and rushed over, prompting the rest of them over.

"Molly, Arthur!", she greeted happily, "Oh, it's so good to see you again! These are your children?", the happy woman asked. The mother of the gingers, a homely woman with a large bust, wide hips and a trim waist smiled at her with sea-blue eyes that held some green, making it deep aquamarine. The man laughed, scratching his orange-red hair that almost matched his wife's, and he had sapphire eyes that all the boys shared. The girl, the same size as Harper, had her mother's eyes.

"Yes, indeed. Bill and Charlie aren't with us right now, but you'll meet them eventually, I'm sure. Percy,", he gestured to a neat, clean teen with a posh air about him, with horned glasses, who looked down his nose at them, "The twins, Fred and George,", the identical boys grinned, sharing a glance before turning it innocently on the Potters' and Co., "My youngest boy Ron, he'll be going to Hogwarts this year,", he said proudly, making the youngest boy grin happily at his father's words. "And my only little girl, Ginny,", he said affectionately about the girl, who smiled a bit, lighting up her freckled face. "She'll be starting next year,", he chuckled. "And your own?", the man asked curiously, making Harper sink a bit deeper into the shadow behind Remus, who stood next to Sirius and James, providing more than enough cover for the small boy. Lily smiled as James and Sirius grinned, while Remus smiled politely at the children.

"Well,", Sirius began slyly, "There's Gideon,", he said, pushing the boy forward a bit, making him grin bravely at the redheads, some of whom gasped, making their parents smother smiles.

"G-Gideon Potter?", Ron asked, eyes wide. Gideon nodded, a toothy smile coming onto his smile, making him look even more like James. Lily's eyes warmed seeing that Gideon made a friend, judging by the way the two were now happily talking. Then she turned her head back, looking for her second-born son. As if beckoned by the thought and will alone of his Mother, Harper popped his head out from behind Remus' leg, eyeing the interactions warily. She giggled slightly at seeing the funny scene.

"And the baby of the family, Harper,", Sirius teased, pulling the boy from his hidden spot to plop him next to his Mother. Looking up through thick, curled lashes, Harper smiled shyly at the parents of the rowdy family. "Gideon, as you know, is starting school this year, and Harper's starting next year,", Sirius told them.

"Well, aren't you just a little doll?", Molly cooed. She normally felt that long hair on a boy was…Disrespectable, but the boy was so very pretty that with short hair, it may look slightly awkward. Ginny looked to the younger Potter with interest. He was going to start school with her? She stepped up to him, lightly shocking her parents and older brothers as Ron was now animatedly talking about Gryffindor with a just as excited Gideon adding things about it.

"Hi, I'm Ginny.", she said with a wide grin, "Wanna be friends?", a startled look filtered quickly through eyes so green she wouldn't have thought possible, before he shocked his own family by smiling warmly, taking her outstretched hand.

"That'd be lovely, Ginny.", he accepted with a sweet smile. She grinned even wider, and hugged him, before firmly taking his hand in her own.

"Then we'll be bestfriends!", she told the boy, who raised a hand to cover and stifle a snicker at the girl's assertiveness, but nodded nonetheless. She turned to her and his' parents. "Can we go play?", she pleaded, "'Cause we don't have to bother with this until next year.", she reasoned next.

"Maybe we can go to the bookstore,", he suggested to her, eyes shining fiercely at the thought of more books. She thought about it for a moment, then nodded with a smile. He examined the beaming girl who stood in front of him. She was just the _smallest_ bit bigger than him, with wavy, fiery hair that hit just below her shoulder, only a mite shorter than his own, and her bangs framed her slightly-rounded face. Her nose was upturned like the rest of her family, but she seemed more pixie-like in her appearance, a combination from both parents. She seemed to have gotten the best in both of them.

"Then we can go look around at the animals!", she cheered. They both turned to the adults of the situation, "Can we?", she pleaded once more. Harper employed his shy, innocent eyes. Molly looked riffled; Arthur seemed not to know what to do, while Harper's parents thought on it for a moment.

"…Well, I suppose you two would be bored from just watching your brothers get their things…", James mumbled. Sirius nodded.

"Only if you have an adult with you,", Molly said firmly. Remus cleared his throat smiling awkwardly, silently volunteering. Lily shot the shy man a smile, as did Arthur. Remus smiled to the two long-haired children, stepping towards them.

"Yay!", Ginny cheered, before beginning to drag Harper off with her in the general direction of Flourish and Blotts. Gideon watched with a frown as his little brother disappeared, before Ron pulled him in the conversation with the word Quidditch. Remus trailed after the two, keeping close to them. When they entered the bookstore, the two giggled quietly, before beginning to prowl the shelves, sometimes pointing one out to the other. Half-an-hour later, they left with thirteen books, five of them gifts to Ginny. "Okay, let's go check out the animals,", she grinned, making him smile back. Remus followed just as silently as previous.

Later at Florean's, where they met up, Ginny was sporting her five books and a teal lizard on her shoulder. She had grinned proudly introducing Nicomedes, showing him off to her brothers and parents. Harper was gently holding a fluffy, long-haired black kitten with eyes just as dark in his arms during this, as he sat between his brother and new 'bestfriend'. Sadly, tension built up as three blondes entered the building. One was a tall, broad-shouldered man with mercury-colored eyes and strongly aristocratic features. A woman with the same white-blonde as her husband and child stood next to him regally, her clear blue eyes taking in the shop. The boy looked haughty, with silver eyes flecked with sky-blue and his hair pushed back like his father's. Harper narrowed his eyes as his tongue slipped out to lick at his vanilla ice-cream.

"Well well, if it isn't the Weasleys and the _ever_-elusive Potters,", the tall blond sneered as they came over. "I'm surprised the Weasleys' can afford to be here. Unless you're going on the Potter's charity?", he asked Arthur silkily, the man red in the face with a glare at the blond. Harper spoke up quietly.

"Why did you come over here, sir?", he asked politely, "Just to insult? That's awfully immature.", he told him factually, making Ginny snicker behind her hand and the Weasley twins to grin at eachother. "If you've nothing better to do, then I must admit that's sad.", he drawled, his sharp eyes focused so intensely the man seemed startled. "I think a hair fell out of place.", making Lucius snap to check his hair, making the younger kids at the table laugh, trying to stop by their hands flying up to cover their mouths.

"I think it'd be best if you taught your children manners,", the blonde woman said coldly with superior-eyes.

"If you kept your husband in line and acted like proper people, I can assure you, we _are_ well-mannered.", Harper replied, and her eyes turned to him. However, his eyes were filled with a light that almost made her feel like dirt beneath his shoes. "However, seeing as you're failing, _abysmally_, in that simple task, you _really_ shouldn't be chastising us. Maybe your son will have sense, though.", he said, looking to the miniature-Malfoy, who was staring at him in shock. "It must be terrible having such _vain_ parents.", Lucius sputtered. "My, you really _must_ learn to control yourself, sir.", he said to the man. "Getting riled up by a _child_,", he shook his head in disappointment. Once again, Harper turned to the youngest blond, "There's hope for you yet, though.", he told him, and he watched the boy flush. Interesting enough, it wasn't from shame, humiliation or anger. It was more like…Oh dear, Harper thought. How do you like someone at first insult?

His Father stood, friends following, all had grins on their faces, and the others all got up as well. "Well, Lucius, we really should be going,", his voice was shaky with suppressed laughter. "C'mon, guys,", he moved out of the seat, Remus carrying the bag of Harper's books. Harper stood as well, kitten on his arm, hand holding up his ice-cream with the other.

"Goodbye,", he said to the boy, who nodded, before he followed his family and bestfriend's family.

~-~-~-~-~-~0~-~-~-~-~-~

"That was awesome!", Ginny burst as they left the building, looking to her newest friend with shining eyes. Gideon was smiling at his little brother proudly, and his Father and his friends were quietly snickering as they remembered how ruffled the usually composed man got.

"I try,", Harper said with a shrug, "He started it anyways, and he should have been prepared for retaliation.", he muttered, not liking the sudden attention from his family. The attention _in_ _general_. Still, Ginny kept telling him how cool it was, and funny and his parents had actually patted his head a few times for protecting their honor (Mother and Remus) and humiliating Malfoy (Father and Sirius). When he got home, he hid away in the gardens, thinking it funny his parents remembered him, but not that today was his tenth birthday, July 31st.

~-~-~-~-~-~0~-~-~-~-~-~

Their parents left a day early to get to Hogwarts, leaving Sirius and Remus to bring Gideon to the train on September first, taking Harper along to say more farewells. The Weasleys' were there, and Ginny attached her hand to his as Gideon and Ron reacquainted. Her lizard was with her, just as Harper's kitten, who had gotten a bit bigger sat at his feet gracefully. Ron had a small brown owl with him, and Gideon had a large snowy-white owl he named Maricela when he heard Harper say the name as a suggestion. His older brother was horrible at picking names. He wanted her to be called _Hedwig_. His brother held onto his free hand, though, and refused to let go. Not exactly surprising, considering he won't see him again until winter break, which must be horrible for Gideon who loves his little brother very much. So, Harper was stuck between his brother and Ginny when he noticed the three blondes, the Malfoys'. Lucius, Narcissa and Draco, he had learned. He saw the boy staring at him rather blatantly, and the father glaring at the Weasleys', but avoiding him. Harper smiled sweetly at the boy, making him flush and look down before he peeked up at him. How cute.

"-And you need to send a letter every day, and-", Gideon was rattling off to him. Harper focused again on Draco. He lowered his eyes and looked up through them demurely, watching the boy swallow as he got a notch higher in color. This was too fun, he thought with a sort of amused glee. '_Can't wait until next year,_', he thought happily, '_I wonder if he'll do my bidding?'_

"Gideon, you'll miss the train,", he told his brother, who blinked as the whistle blew before hugging him tightly. Harper was hauled up on Sirius' back as they-Sirius, Molly and Ginny-started running with the train as it moved, shouting good-byes. '_How ridiculous we must look,_', he thought.

~NOM-NOM-NOM-NOM-NOM-NOM~

What do you think? There's a poll for who he should end up with (you can choose three, for your knowledge) and I'm relatively excited about this story. Please review!


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